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| I'm Jane and I'm a Pattern Addict |
What brought about this revelation? Three things have affected me this week:
1. I've been doing a lot of cleaning and sewing room reorganizing. But no actual sewing. That makes me a little cranky and feeling unfilled.
2. That reorganization forces me to really look at how much time I spend curating my stuff. Let's face it, that's what I'm doing. Categorizing, maintaining, dusting, filing. In the process I was deciding about the next JAM projects. But when I look at many of those patterns, they simply do not reflect me and what I actually wear. Huh, those oversized, artsy jackets with dropped shoulders and no darts. Nice illustrations and great on someone else but just not my style. Or too, too many similar princess seamed jacket wardrobe patterns that look alike when they're next to each other.
3. I've also been pet sitting for neighbors over the last nine days and turned on Oprah when I visited their home yesterday afternoon. I watched the first half of the show with Tom Shadyac, the Hollywood producer who has dramatically downsized his life in his search for greater meaning and purpose. Powerful show and I'm eager to see his documentary, I Am. It reminded me of the wonderful book, What Happy People Know by Don Baker. The point was that after a certain amount of financial security, additional things don't bring extra gratification. That's how I'm feeling about my pattern collection right now. It's weighing me down, not inspiring and challenging me.
So, how do you feel about your pattern collection?
I have lots of patterns (460), and quite a few that I will sell (about 50), when i make the time for that task. How many patterns do you have?
ReplyDeleteWhew you hit a nerve with this topic. Not just patterns but "stuff" in general. Patterns I don't have so many of but ummm well I am sure I need a 12 step program for my fabric stash. I have been trying to de-clutter and downsize "stuff" for the last couple years. I do really well at the task for a bit then poof I drop the ball. Then I build up the nerve and get back at it. After 28 yrs of marriage its amazing how much stuff two people can accumulate!
ReplyDeleteSo have been feeling this way lately! Too many patterns and I feel a crazy pressure to sew them. It is starting to feel stifling.
ReplyDeleteI currently have 170 patterns of which I have used about 110 . Of the unused patterns most of these were given to me or from thrift shops ranging in price from 10 cents to $2.00 so I dont feel too bad about these. However I have about 10 patterns I paid full price for and I feel awful about this ( IN Australia patterns even on sale cost upwards of $7.00 ) I am like you though - too much stuff doesnt feel good. I do regularly cull my patterns and because they are so expensive do not buy very many new ones keeping the figures down. It is my next mission to use my patterns I am feeling bad about. Good luck with your downsizing.
ReplyDeleteMary, you've described the garments I sew! LOL. Recognition of the problem is the first step. Get rid of those patterns and your creativity will soar, I am sure. I am not disciplined enough to sell them so I give them away, but I'm sure you'll figure out the best route for you.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry I called you Mary! I meant Jane!! :D
ReplyDeleteI actally don't have a problem with patterns, because I don't buy them! Just about all the sewing I do is out of a magazine, with tissue that is easy to discard afterwards. I do have a growing magazine collection, of course, but a book with 40 patterns in it is easier to manage than 40 separate patterns!
ReplyDeleteHi Jane. I am so in your camp on this topic. I feel really encumbered by all of the "stuff" I have accumulated; it really is debilitating. More and more I find that I spend my little free time cleaning my space instead of actually creating. This is true for many aspects of my home but none more so than my sewing room. I really need to take the time to do a decent purge very soon. Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteLike you I travel to a different location for the summer, so I limit my patterns to 4 cardboard 'banker boxes'. The boxes hold a double rows of patterns with larger patterns running the entire width in the back of each box. When the boxes become full I sort the patterns into similar design lines, then purge. I started printing pattern pictures from the pattern web sites and keep those to remind me of what I want to sew in the future rather than buying the entire pattern.
ReplyDeleteI also sew out of magazines and books, so patterns don't tempt me in the same way. Fabric's a different story altogether!
ReplyDeleteFor my kids' collections of things I make them put it in a certain size container and if the container overflows, they have to cull something.
I agree with Don Baker's statement but I don't think I buy patterns just for "gratification". I buy them for the same reason I buy books;
ReplyDeleteto learn something new or different, to have as reference or inspiration. I buy patterns if they are a style I want to make or if the pattern uses a technique I haven't used before and want to learn. I have a massive pattern collection and I need to go through it and cull the basic styles I no longer need a pattern to make, like A line and pencil skirts, tank dresses. And patterns that I now know are not the right style for my body or don't fit my lifestyle. But I plan to keep any pattern with a unique style, Claire Shaeffer Vogue patterns and vintage patterns. And like another commenter said, my real problem is fabric, not patterns.